"She needed to get back to playing defense. She has not been a liability until the past few games and I think she let that get to her confidence a little bit.

"I thought she played great."

Reese was 2-for-4 from the floor and 6-for-6 from the free throw line. She has made 16 consecutive free throws.

"I just knew coming in I had to do really well on defense to get my offense going and I feel like I did that," she said. "With the help of my teammates' encouragement and me encouraging them as well, I feel like that just helped with everyone and our flow of the game."

Reese gets another shot at a home state school on Sunday when the Buffs host Oregon. Reese grew up rooting for the Ducks, so that one will likely mean even more to her.

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Piling up the turnovers

During the past three games, the CU defense has forced 72 turnovers, a dramatic increase of what it had done in previous games.

"We're in better position and I think we're understanding offenses better," Lappe said. "We're being a little bit more aggressive. Right now we're kind of everywhere on the floor. As an offense, that's tough to play against."

The Buffs had 17 steals on Friday, their second-highest total of the season. They had 18 against New Mexico on Dec. 29.

CU came into the weekend seventh in the Pac-12 in forcing turnovers, at 17.1 per game.

Huggins likely to sit

Freshman Lauren Huggins has not played since Dec. 5 against Colorado State because of a stress fracture, but has returned to practice. Friday was her third game back in uniform, but Lappe said Huggins may not play the rest of this year.

"I think we're probably going to end up redshirting Lauren," Lappe said. "She's back at practice, so it's been good to see her back in practice, but she still is trying to get back into shape and get back in the flow of things."

Huggins can't use this season as a redshirt year, but per NCAA rules, if she plays less than 20 percent of the regular season, she can apply for a medical redshirt. She has played in five games, which would wind up being 17 percent of the regular season. If she plays one more game, she would reach 21 percent and be ineligible for a medical redshirt.

Notable

Senior captain Meagan Malcolm-Peck did not play for the second game in a row and for the third time in the past five games. She's played just eight minutes in the last five games. Lappe said Malcolm-Peck has been dealing with an injury to her right shoulder. ... CU is 4-1 against Oregon State, including 4-0 in Boulder. ... CU has yet to allow an opponent to score 70 points this year. ... Lexy Kresl was 1-for-3 from 3-point range and 88 career 3s, moving into 12th place on CU's all-time list. ... The choir from Longmont Christian School sang the national anthem before the game.

Follow Brian on Twitter:

@BrianHowell33.

Colorado's Jen Reese goes for a layup over Oregon State's Deven Hunter, at center, during Friday's game in Boulder.
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JEREMY PAPASSO
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